University of Alabama
Since 2020 a demographic group that has been of concern because of the isolation of Covid are teenagers. Many teenagers have had trouble succeeding in school, had to stop doing activities which previously were being seriously pursued, and lost connections with friends. However, there are teens that have thrived during this time period.Alena Analeigh was accepted to Alabama‘s Heersink School of medicine at 13years old. Mack Rutherford, at age 16, started his quest to be the youngest pilot to complete a solo flight around the world. If Mack completes his goal he will usurp his sister who has the official Guinness World Record as the youngest woman pilot to complete the same journey this year at age 19.
Alena has a background that would make her an unlikely candidate for such a big success. In her own words Alena said, “ statistics would have said I never would have made it. A little black girl adopted from Fontana California “. In one year and a half Alena has finished three years of college. Her acceptance for medical school does not start until 2024, so she will have finished.her college career at both Arizona State and Oakwood University. Her major is biological science, but has also found a passion to work for NASA as a flight surgeon.
Alena‘s education started out in a classroom, until she was told by the principal that a girl of color cannot get all A‘s. This is when Alena‘s mother, Daphne McQuarter, started homeschooling her. This may have been the change that made a difference. Working at home Alena learned to work on her organizing and time management skills. Alena felt it was an asset to be able to work on what she felt like working on at whatever time she wanted to. Home schooling also allowed for experiential learning as well as world travel. Alena also made mistakes, but learned from them as opposed to receiving a poor grade and feeling like a failure. Meeting the student individually is a goal that educators strive for, but is difficult to orchestrate in the constraint of a crowded classroom.
On top of Alena‘s academic accomplishments, she is also a philanthropist. She turned the stinging comment from her ex–principal into a non profit, Brown Stem Girls. The organization sponsored a trip to Singapore to further the girls‘ STEM knowledge. It appears that by supporting a child‘s passion, that they could end up with an exceptional human being.
Another example of an exceptional teenager is Mack Rutherford, a Belgian–Brit. Mack has an advantage of being a teen pilot, since both his father Sam and mother Beatrice are both pilots. Mack got his pilot‘s license at 15, the youngest licensed pilot in the world. Another pilot in the family is Mack‘s sister Zara. On Jan 20, she landed in Kortrijk, Belgium. She became the youngest woman pilot at 19 to fly solo across the world. Zara‘s accomplishment was verified by the Guinness World Records.
The sponsor of Mack‘s trip is ICDSoft who is headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria was the starting point for his adventure The company loaned Rutherford the Shark light plane that was the same his sister used for her trip. In order to meet the requirements of the Guinness World Records one must cross the equator twice. This will include 52 countries on five continents. The ultralight aircraft travels 186 mph and one seat was taken out to put in an extra fuel tank. Recently, Mack landed in Unalaska. He discussed some of the challenges he faced flying in different airspace. Mack left Bulgaria in late March and predicted to land back there by late August. During Mack‘s trip he turned 17, which will still make him the youngest pilot to complete the solo flight around the world.
Some Ideas on How to Raise a Successful Adult
As a parent reading a story like this, one wonders how do you get an extraordinary child like Alena, Mack and his sister Zara? The writer of the book “Raising an Entrepreneur“by Margot Machol Bisnow has four things not to do.
The first, is do not treat a kid‘s hobby as a waste of time. Secondly, do not make all the choices for your kids. Thirdly, never push something, because it‘s financially rewarding, keep focused on happiness. Finally, do not ignore financial literacy, teach your child about money and how to use it.
Getting accepted to medical school like Alena at 13 and flying around the world solo at age 16 to 17 like Mack it takes a special parent to allow these things. We can‘t point to genetics as the determining factor for a child‘s success since Alena was adopted.
Mack has a family of aviators, so does that account for his determination to be a record breaking pilot? Yes and no, Mack obviously has had exposure to flying, so yes. However, many parents with special skills do not have children with the same skill set or desire. What comes to mind are athletes who were outstanding at their sport, yet their kids did not pursue it. Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Jack Nicklaus, and Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi. In fact the tennis couple did not want to press their children to play tennis, because they saw it as a lonely sport. The bottom line is we won‘t all have kids that society deems special. WTH. As long as your kids know they always have your support and you find them special, then they will be secure and happy. Isn‘t that all anyone needs?
